282wi06 Schedule

Week 1
Wed. 1/4 - introduction, syllabus, survey

HomeWork

  • read Coover, Eco, and Sterling.
  • Complete Survey

Week 2
Mon. 1/9 - Texts and the Internet: Past, Present, and Future

HomeWork

  • Research either DIVS, Tables, or Frames according to your group. Come to class prepared to explain (1) what your organizer is, (2) how to code it, and (3) how it can be used to organize and layout a website. hint - practice on your survey if you like.
  • Code your Survey as a website. Make sure you post a link on theEpost
  • Read and respond to at least 2 posts on the Epost
    To make a response, reply to a message you find interesting with comments that expand the explanation, add to the pluses and minuses, or raises questions about the implications for webwriters.
  • Post questions to the helPost as necessary

Wed. 1/11 - Organizing Web Pages - DIVS, Tables, and Frames.

HomeWork

  • Finish Survey to Website assignment
  • Post a link to your organizer resource page on the Epost. Make sure it is properly saved in your dante server folders first.
  • Read "The Wasteland" the poem. We will be talking how this poem, like many others of the modernist period, is a precurser to the eletronic phenomenon of hypertext. Check out the following sites examples of hypertexting the poem: "The Wasteland" as Hypertext and Exploring "The Wasteland"
  • Root around this webpage about Hypertext by George Landow. On Wednesday I will be bringing up some of the ideas here and if you want to have some familiarity with what I am discussing (though it won't be necessary) read around the section on definitions.

Week 3
Mon. 1/16 - MLK DAY - No Class
Wed. 1/18 - Hypertext and Modernism

HomeWork

  • Start looking for text to turn into Hypertext
  • Finish assignment 2, building a course website. When you finish, please send me a link to your home page. (remember that you should save a file named index.html and one named works.html to the 282wi06 folder in your public(or student)_html site.
  • Read around George Landow's Hypertext: The Convergence of contemporary critical theory and technology. Pay special attention to the characteristics of this "new" media, how it changes the nature of writing and the nature of reading. We will be discussing all the next week.
  • Write a paragraph answering the following question: is "The Wasteland" a hypertext? Why or why not? Then post this answer in the homework section of the works page of your website. You can either post it as another webpage that a visitor links to, as a word document saved in your homework folder with a link on the webpage, or you can throw your paragraph in a div right under the date for Monday. It's up to you how you decide to display it.

Week 4
Mon. 1/23 - Hypertext and Narrative

HomeWork

  • Read Mark Bernstein's Chasing Our Tales and Hypertext Gardens. Be prepared to discuss his concept of hypertext, the ways he thinks it can and should be used, and how he is using the characteristics of the medium to make his point.
  • Start looking seriously for a text to turn into hypertext for Assignment 3
  • Following the instructions on this page, write three paragraphs describing the practical application for web authors of the critical terms we discussed today.

Wed. 1/25 - Hypertext (cont.)

HomeWork

  • Read Shirley Jackson's My Body
  • As you read Jackson's hypertext, identify two or three themes and select quotations releveant to those themes. Then, post in the homework section of your works page, a description of the themes you idenified with the relavant quotation. If you are going to put them on a webpage, rather than in a linked word document, I suggest playing with <blockquote cite="(url of cited text)"> as a formating option with citation.
  • Also, post a paragraph response to our class discussion yesterday on various designs for managing traffic. Your response should discuss the Balmer design model and the Grieg Garden design model in relation to our discussion of centered and decentered texts. Another way to think about the question: if we take Bernstein seriously, to what extent will our webdesigns be centered? to what extent will they be decentered? As usual, post your paragraph as a liked webpage, in the homework section of your works page, or in a linked word document.

Week 5
Mon. 1/30 - Hypertext and Narrative

HomeWork

  • Look over the readings to this point. Next class we will compile a list of hypertext composing strategies and practice hypertexting texts in preparation for Assignment 3.
  • With the above in mind, bring in any questions you have about hypertext, hypertext theory, and composing in the hypertext environment.
  • Fix up your personal websites. Make sure you follow all of the directions. Also, if you want to resubmit your survey, be sure to email me a link when it is finished. Grades on both the website and the survey will be finalized this Friday
  • Start looking seriously for a text to turn into hypertext for Assignment 3

Wed. 1/25 - Hypertext (the end)

HomeWork

Week 6
Mon. 2/6 - Images

HomeWork

  • Read the article from Bolter and bring to class the URL of a website that exhibits some of what he is talking about. Be prepared to discuss how your website demonstrates one or more of Bolter's points.
  • Read at least 2 of your peer's hypertexts. Then go to the ePost and post a comment about what you read. In your comment you should say whether or not you felt the hypertext was successful acheiving what it set out to acheive (look at the author's description for some guidence here). Make sure to post a link to the website you are reviewing.

    PS. I would appreciate it if you checked to make sure everyone has a comment or two. Thanks.

Wed. 2/8 - Images (cont.)

HomeWork

  • Write a one page proposal, suggesting a possible paper topic and argument for your FINAL PROJECT. Do some research to begin the thinking process.

    The project is to be an argument, composed in hypertext, concerning some issue in your field of study, in hypertext or internet theory, or some social issue. More details as to specfics will follow.

  • Look over the CSS pages in your HTML book.

Week 7
Mon. 2/13 - CSS

HomeWork

  • Start looking for websites to redesign with CSS.
  • Read through Webpages that Suck. Pay particular attention to the criteria by which they determine what a sucky website is.
  • Find a sucky webpage. Post a link to it on Epost with an explanation of why you think it sucks.

Wed. 2/15 - Stylin' and Suckin'

HomeWork

  • read Burbules on the Rhetorics of the Web and look over this introduction to color theory.
  • look over the color scheme website
  • Start work on Assignment 4. You have a decent amount of reading coming up, so the more you get done early, the better
  • Finish CSS page for your class website. It should have at least 6 editted selectors
  • Answer the following questions in Epost: Is Jackson's My Body a web page that sucks? Why or why not? How about Bernstein's Hypertext Gardens? Does it suck? why or why not? You can deal with each text in a separate paragraph or deal with them both together. The choice is yours.

Week 8
Mon. 2/20 - No CLASS
Wed. 2/22 - Rhetorics of design

HomeWork

Week 9
Mon. 2/27 - Case Study: blogging

HomeWork

Wed. 3/1 - Case Study: MySpace

HomeWork

Week 10
Mon. 3/6 - Class project

HomeWork

  • peer review

Wed. 3/8 - Class Project (cont.)

HomeWork

  • finish final project by next wednesday.